Replay: Caruana – Carlsen game 1 / Carlsen – Caruana game 2 / Caruana – Carlsen game 3 / Carlsen – Caruana game 4 / Caruana – Carlsen game 5 / Carlsen – Caruana game 6 / Carlsen – Caruana game 7 / Caruana – Carlsen game 8 / Caruana – Carlsen game 9 / Caruana – Carlsen game 10 / Carlsen – Caruana game 11 / Caruana – Carlsen game 12
Hello everyone and welcome to the live coverage of the 2018 World Chess Championship match between the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and the challenger Fabiano Caruana (USA). In this live blog + live games from WCC 2018 we will be covering the event Carlsen – Caruana with the latest news, developments, interviews, and in-game details.
The most important feature here will be the lines of analysis by Lc0 – the open Neural Network, and the TCEC champion Stockfish running on a Super Computer of 128 cores.
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Update 19:00 CET
Magnus Carlsen is the 2018 World Chess Champion! Congratulations! With a solid third game, Carlsen brings the match and the title home.
Update 18:00 CET
It all went downhill for Caruana. 2-0 for Carlsen and a match ball for the Norwegian
Update 17:45 CET
Lc0 -0.56 : 22. .. bxc6 23. dxc6 Rfc8 24. Qc4 Qe6 25. Nd5 Ra5 26. Nb6 d5 27. Qc3 Rb5 28. Qc2 Rc7 29. Na8 Rc8 30. Nb6 Rc7 31. Na8 Bb4+ 32. Ke2 Rc8 33. Nb6 Bc3 34. bxc3 Rxc6 35. Qxa4 Rb2+ 36. Kf1 d4 37. cxd4 Rxc1+ 38. Bxc1 Rxb6 39. Qa8+ Kh7 40. Qe4 Rb4 41. d5 Qa6+ 42. Qe2 Qb7 43. Kg2 Qxd5+ 44. Kh2 Rg4
SF128 -0.54 : 22. .. bxc6 23. dxc6 Rfc8 24. Qc4 Bd8 25. Ne4 Ba5+ 26. Ke2 Rcb8 27. Nxd6 Rxb2+ 28. Kf1 Qf3 29. Qe4 Qxe4 30. Nxe4 f5 31. Ng5 Rc8 32. a3 Ra2 33. Kg2 Rxa3 34. Ne6 Rc3 35. Rxc3 Bxc3
Update 17:38 CET
A premature 21. c5 sends the game from opening success for white to trouble
Lc0: -0.5 : 21. .. O-O 22. Rd1 Rfd8 23. f3 Qd7 24. cxd6 Bxd6 25. a3 Rdc8 26. Ne4 Ra5 27. O-O Ne7 28. Bf2 Rxd5 29. Kg2 Bb8 30. Nc3 Rd4 31. Bxd4 exd4 32. Rxd4 Qxd4 33. Qxe7 Ba7 34. Qe2 Qc4 35. Re1 Bd4 36. Qxc4 Rxc4 37. Re4 f5 38. Rf4 g6 39. Kf1 Kf7 40. Ne2 g5
SF128 -0.09 : 21. .. O-O 22. Rd1 Rfd8 23. cxd6 Bxd6 24. O-O a3 25. Bb6 Rd7 26. bxa3 Ra6 27. Rb1 Nxh4 28. gxh4 Bc7 29. Be3 Rg6+ 30. Bg5 f6 31. Qe4 Qxe4 32. Nxe4 Rxd5 33. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 34. Rxd1 fxg5 35. Nxg5 Rd6 36. Rb1 Rb6 37. Rc1 Rc6 38. Rd1 Bb6 39. Rb1 Bd8 40. Rxb7 Bxg5 41. hxg5 Kh7 42. Rb5 Kg6
Update 17:19 CET
An opening success for white, now we have Carlsen in deep thought:
Lc0 +0.85 : 17. .. O-O 18. Be2 Bd8 19. O-O Ne7 20. Bxh5 Nf5 21. Qd3 Qc8 22. Kh2 g6 23. Be2 Nxe3 24. Qxe3 f5 25. Qh6 Rf6 26. b4 Bb6 27. a3 Qf8 28. Qxf8+ Rfxf8 29. Kg2 Bd4 30. Rac1 Rac8 31. Rfd1 Kf7 32. f4 Rfe8 33. Rc2 b6 34. Bf1
SF128 + 0.68 : 17. .. Bd8 18. Be2 Ne7 19. Bxh5 O-O 20. Qd3 Nf5 21. Bg4 Qc8 22. O-O-O b5 23. Nxb5 Bxb5 24. Bxf5 Qxc4+ 25. Kb1 g6 26. Qxc4 Bxc4 27. Be4 f5 28. Rc1 Be2 29. Rhe1 Bb5 30. Bc2 Kg7 31. a3 Rf7 32. Rg1 Rc8 33. f3 Rfc7 34. Rg2 e4 35. fxe4 fxe4 36. Rd1 Bf6 37. Bxe4 Re8
Update 17:15 CET
Game 2 is underway with the well known 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5
Update 17:01 CET
The World Championship drama is here! In a difficult endgame, Caruana makes the final blunder with 37… Kxe4. Precise play from that point on by Carlsen to bring the full point home. A goal for Carlsen, 1-0
Update 16:55 CET
30. Rd5 was not the right way to try to go for a win. Now the position is equal
Update 16:45 CET
Lc0 : 29. .. c5 30. Rc1 Kd6 31. e5+ Kd5 32. e6 Kxe6 33. Rxc5 g6 34. Ra5 h5 35. h4 Ra2 36. a4 Rd2 37. Kf1 Ra2 38. Rxa6+ Kf5 39. Ke1 Ra3 40. Kf2 Ra2+ 41. Kf3 Ra3+ 42. Kg2 Ra2+ 43. Kh3 Ra1 44. a5 Ke4 45. Rxg6 Kf3 46. Kh2 Ra2+ 47. Kh3 Ra1 48. Kh2 Ra2+ 49. Kg1 Ra1+ 50. Kh2
SF128: 29. .. c5 30. Rc1 Kd6 31. a4 Rd2 32. e5+ Kd5 33. e6 Kxe6 34. Rxc5 g6 35. Re5+ Kf6 36. Ra5 Ke6 37. h4 h5 38. Kf1 Ra2 39. Ke1 Kf6 40. Rxa6+ Kf5 41. Ra5+ Ke4 42. Rg5 Rxa4 43. Rxg6 Kf3 44. Kd1 Ra3 45. Rg7 Ke4 46. Kd2 Rb3 47. Rg5 Ra3 48. Rg6 Rb3 49. Ke2 Rb2+ 50. Kd1 Ra2 51. Rg5 Ra1+ 52. Kc2 Ra3 53. Kb2 Rd3 54. Kc1 Ra3 55. Re5+ Kf3 56. Kb2 Rd3 57. Kc2 Ra3
Update 16:39 CET
Lc0 +2.5: 24. Rxd4 Kf7 25. Kh1 Ke7 26. Red1 Rb6 27. Rd6 c5 28. e5 a5 29. f4 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Nf8 31. Rc6 h6 32. Rxc5 Rd4 33. Kg2 g5 34. fxg5 hxg5 35. Kf3 a4 36. Rc7+ Kd8 37. Rc6 Ke7 38. Ke3 Rd1 39. Ra6 Re1+ 40. Kd4 Rd1+ 41. Kc3 Re1 42. Ra7+ Kd8 43. Rxa4 Rxe5 44. Ra8+ Ke7 45. a4 Nd7 46. Ra7 Kd6 47. Ra6+ Ke7 48. a5 Nf6 49. Ra8 Re3+ 50. Kb4 Re4
Eval
SF128 +2.52 : 24. Rxd4 Kf7 25. Kh1 Ke7 26. Red1 Rbb8 27. Bxa6 c5 28. R4d2 Nb6 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Rxd8 Kxd8 31. Kg1 Kc7 32. Kf2 c4 33. Ke3 Kd6 34. Kd4 e5+ 35. Kc3 Kc5 36. f4 Na4+ 37. Kc2 Kd4 38. fxe5 Nc5 39. Bb5 Kxe5 40. Kc3 Nxe4+ 41. Kxc4 Kd6 42. a4 Kc7 43. a5 Kb7 44. Kb4 Ka7 45. Bd3 Nf6 46. Kc5 Ng4 47. Bxh7
Update 16:35 CET
SF128 +1.5: 22. .. Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Rxd4 Kf7 25. Kh1 Rbb8 26. Red1 Ke7 27. Bxa6 c5 28. R4d2 Nb6 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Rb1 Nd7 31. a4 Ra8 32. Bb5 c4 33. Rc1 Nb6 34. Rc2 Rc8 35. Kg2 Kd6 36. Ba6 Rc5 37. f4 Nxa4 38. Bxc4 e5 39. Kf3 Nb6 40. Rd2+ Ke7 41. Bg8 h5 42. fxe5
Lc0 +2.52 : 22. .. Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Bxe6+ Kf8 25. Rxd4 Ke7 26. Rxd7+ Rxd7 27. Bxd7 Kxd7 28. Rd1+ Ke7 29. f4 c5 30. e5 Ke6 31. Rd6+ Kf5 32. Rxa6 Ke4 33. Kf1 Rxh2 34. Ke1 Kf3 35. Kd1 Rh1+ 36. Kd2 Rh2+ 37. Kd3 Kxg3 38. Ra4 Kf3 39. e6 Re2 40. f5 Re5 41. Ra7 g6 42. fxg6 hxg6 43. Rf7+ Kg4 44. e7 g5 45. Kc4 Kh5 46. a4
Update 16:31 CET
Nervs kick in, Caruana misses the obvious 19… Nb7 and goes Nb5 instead, engine evals call it a blunder, jumping to +1.90!
Update 16:21 CET
Magnus Carlsen missed the most critical line and after 14. Be3 the position is stabilizing for black. Now at move 17 Lc0 eval is +0.3, SF128 is +0.09
Update 16:17 CET
After 12. Na4 many possibilities for Caruana, none looks good in the eyes of Leela
Line 1 +0.9: 12. .. Be6 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. f4 c3 15. Nxc3 Bb3 16. h3 Nbd7 17. Be3 Rab8 18. Rf2 Re8 19. Rd2 Nb6 20. Bf1 Bc4 21. Bxb6 Bxf1 22. Bc7 Rb7 23. Bxe5 Bxh3 24. b4 Nd7 25. Bd6 h5 26. Rc1 a5 27. bxa5 Rb3 28. Rd4 Ra8 29. Rb4 Rxa3 30. Rb8+ Nxb8
Line 2 +0.92: 12. .. Nbd7 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 15. Qxc4 Be6 16. Qc3 Qd4 17. Qxd4 exd4 18. Bf4 Rfd8 19. Rfc1 Rac8 20. b4 h6 21. f3 Nd7 22. Bf1 g5
SF128 +0.57: 12. .. Be6 13. f4 c3 14. Qc2 exf4 15. gxf4 Qd4+ 16. Kh1 Nbd7 17. bxc3 Qc4 18. Nb2 Qb3 19. Qxb3 Bxb3 20. e5 Nd5 21. c4 Ne7 22. Rf2 g6 23. Be3 Nf5 24. Re1 Rfc8 25. Bh3 Rab8 26. Bxf5 gxf5 27. Rg1+ Kf8 28. Rd2 Rb7 29. Bf2 c5 30. Rg3 Ba2 31. h3 Bb1 32. Nd3 Rb6 33. a4 Rg6 34. Rxg6 hxg6 35. a5 Kg7 36. Kg2 g5 37. fxg5 Bxd3 38. Rxd3 Nxe5 39. Rd5 Nxc4 40. Rxf5 Nxa5 41. Bxc5 Nb3
Update 16:15 CET
Lc0 critical variation in game 1: 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Be3 Qe7 13. Na4 Nbd7 14. Qd2 a5 15. Rfd1 Ng4 16. Bb6 Ngf6 17. Bxa5 c5 18. Nb6 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Ra6 20. Ba5 Bd7 21. Re1 Rd6 22. Qc1 Ra8 23. Bc3 Bc6 24. Qg5 Rd4 25. f4 h6 26. Qxe5 Qa7 27. f5 Re8 28. Qf4 Qb7 29. a4 Nxe4 30. Bxd4 cxd4
Eval +0.91
Update 16:10 CET
Now after 8… d6 the neural network Lc0 is saying the position for black is “difficult to play” +0.61 9. a3 Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. cxb5 axb5 12. d5 Bb6 13. dxc6 Nxc6 14. Bg5 Bg4 15. Nxb5 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Nbc3 Nd4 18. Qd3 Nxe2+ 19. Nxe2 Be6 20. a4 Rfc8 21. a5 Ba7 22. Rac1 Rxc1 23. Nxc1 Rc8 24. Qd2 Bc4 25. Nd3 Ba6 26. Rc1 Rxc1+ 27. Nxc1 Qe6 28. Bf1
The clock of Caruana agrees, this is an opening success for Carlsen
Update 16:01 CET
Game 1 we have the English opening with 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. e4 which is a different variation of the opening that we have seen so far
Lc0 line 1 +0.3 : 6. .. d6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. a3 Ba5 9. Qc2 Bb6 10. Na4 Bc7 11. d4 Nb6 12. Nxb6 Bxb6 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. b4 a5 15. c5 Bc7 16. Bb2 Re8 17. cxd6 Bxd6 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxe5 Qxe5 20. Qc3 Qxc3 21. Nxc3 axb4 22. axb4
Lc0 line 2 +0.31 : 6. .. Re8 7. O-O d6 8. a3 Ba5 9. h3 Nbd7 10. Qc2 Bb6 11. Na4 Bc7 12. d4 a6 13. Rd1 b5 14. cxb5 axb5 15. Nac3 b4 16. Na4 Ba6 17. axb4 Bxe2 18. Qxe2
SF 128 +0.39 : 6. .. a6 7. O-O d6 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nbd7 10. Nce2 Re8 11. a3 Bc5 12. b4 Bb6 13. Qc2 c5 14. Nf5 Ne5 15. Bf4 h6 16. Rfd1 Bxf5 17. exf5 Qe7 18. Rab1 cxb4 19. Rxb4 Qc7 20. Qb3 Bc5 21. Rxb7 Rab8 22. Rxc7 Rxb3 23. Bxe5 Rxe5 24. Nd4 Rb2 25. Rc8+ Kh7
Update 15:43 CET
Reminder of the current score in blitz and rapid from historical point of view. Carlsen leads Caruana 15,0 – 8,0, with Carlsen winning 13 games, Caruana winning 6 games, and 4 games finishing draw.
Update 15:30 CET
The tiebreak drama is here! Today is the day when we will know the new world chess champion. Even in the unlikely case where we do not have a single decisive game, there will be a new champion crowned. Carlsen and Caruana will start with best-of-four rapid games with time control 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds after each move. In case of a 2-2 score we will have up to 5 pairs of blitz games with time control 5 minutes plus 3 seconds increment after each move. In case of another tie, there will be the famous Armageddon, where in case of draw the player with the black pieces will be crowned champion
Carlsen will start with the white pieces, as per the draw conducted during the last press conference.
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